Independence Day is upon us and I am really looking forward to a three day weekend! With all the negativity that seems to be flying around the internet and the media lately on all kinds of topics, I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about freedom and what that word means to me.I love living in the United States. We live in a country that was built upon the foundation of individual liberties and freedom from the oppressive government of the English monarchy. Our forefathers came here and our new country was built on the backs of the men and women who gave their sweat and blood and survived many hardships. And when The Constitution was drafted and signed, those first leaders ensured that there was verbiage to ensure that we would never have to endure a lack of basic freedoms. And throughout the years that our country has been the great country that it is, there have been brave men and women who have fought to ensure that those freedoms have been preserved. We haven't done everything right but we haven't done everything wrong either. And our country is filled with a diversity of people...different religions...different ancestries...different social views...different political views. And what better way to live than to have all the best minds and visions coming together to make a bigger, better vision?I understand that not everyone will agree with what I am about to say, but that's the awesome thing about living in a free country, we can say what we want without fear of persecution. You can have your opinion and express it and I can have mine. And guess what...I will still love you as a fellow American and a fellow human being even though I may not agree with or believe the same things that you do.Over my lifetime, I have seen freedoms gradually begin to erode and we have sat complacently and watched them fade away in front of our eyes. We can no longer say what we want to say unless it is filled with political correctness and doesn't offend our neighbors' beliefs. We can only practice our religious beliefs when those beliefs don't upset the beliefs of others. When a great tragedy such as a shooting in a school happens, we don't place the blame where it belongs and hold the person that commits the crime accountable...we blame their childhood, their social status, poverty, their parents, guns, symbols, or television or movies or video games. The truth is, each and every one of us have a choice when we get up in the morning. We can either do the right things and work hard and live the American dream or we can choose to do the wrong things. A real simple concept. And if someone chooses to do the wrong thing with their freedom, then they should lose that freedom. Those of us who choose to do the right things should not be penalized by losing our freedoms just because someone else used their freedoms frivolously or caused harm to others. And when I speak of harm, I don't mean hurt feelings or disagreement with the person's choices. I mean actual HARM. Bodily, physical harm or monetary loss. So you don't agree with someone's choices? Suck it up buttercup because what another individual does in a free country is entirely up to them and it's not up to you to judge them just because you believe differently. That's freedom...Happy Independence Day to my fellow citizens of the United States of America!